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New EV Battery Lab Getting Built by Ford and University of Michigan

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a77f9c91a6bf2c22400f6a7067000037Owning an electric car these days is considered a more of a luxury rather than an environmentally friendly alternative to a conventional diesel-burning vehicle.

The main reason for this is the cost, and regardless of how many of us care about environmental pollution and our health, only a limited few can afford a green drive.

Quite a big share of the price is due to the cost of the batteries, hence why numerous research and engineering groups are desperately trying to speed up the development of new and cheaper technologies. Ford Motor Co. and researchers at the University of Michigan are attempting exactly this by opening a new battery research and manufacturing lab. Here are the details.

The home of the new facility will be the University campus in Ann Arbor. There, researchers, car companies and engineers from he field of battery development and innovation, will join forces in order to create the ultimate cheep and efficient battery that can cut down costs and boost sales of electric and hybrid vehicles.

The lab will be the first one in the U.S. where new chemistry of batteries will be tested specifically for the automotive industry. Currently, existing facilities, including these owned by Ford, allow such tests to be conducted at a very late stage in the development of the new technology, making the research process quite risky and costly.

There is no doubt that innovations in the field of EV battery development are highly desired, especially considering the need of increasing the pool of potential customers. Although some market analysts predict that there will be a drop in EV prices in the coming decades due to new materials and technologies, the guys from Ford and University of Michigan hope to speed this process up.

According to Ted Miller, manager of battery research at Ford, the lab should be fully operational early next year. Around $16 million have already been granted to the facility by the University, Ford and Michigan Economic Development Corp, with many battery developers already signing up to use the lab.

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